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Month: November 2017

Throwback Thursday is a meme created by Renee at It’s Book Talk to share old favorite books rather than just the new shiny ones. This is a great idea to bring back to life some much-loved books. Please feel free to join in.

My choice for this week is:

All She Ever Wanted by Rosalind Noonan

Published December 24th 2012 by Kensington

Book Description:

For years, Chelsea Maynard has longed to be a mother. She’s imagined caring for a new baby in the lovely house she shares with her husband, Leo, fondly planning every detail. But after a difficult birth, those dreams of blissful bonding evaporate. Chelsea battles sleep deprivation and feelings of isolation. Little Annabelle cries constantly, and Chelsea has dark visions fueled by exhaustion and self-doubt. Her sister, Emma, insists she gets help for post-partum depression, but Chelsea’s doctor dismisses her worries as self-indulgent.

Doubting her ability to parent–even doubting her own sanity–Chelsea is close to collapse. Then an unthinkable crisis hits. And suddenly, Chelsea is compelled to face both the fragility and resilience of life, and the extraordinary depths of love.

With uncompromising candor and clarity, acclaimed author Rosalind Noonan creates a mesmerizing novel that is gripping, heart-wrenching, and unforgettably poignant.

My Thoughts:

New mother, Chelsea Maynard has been overwhelmed and exhausted since her daughter Annabelle’s birth. She’s also emotional with frequent mood swings. She’s never felt like this before…she knows she’s not behaving as a normal healthy new mother would.

“All She Ever Wanted” is a heart-wrenching and emotional read that deals with some very important issues. Well-written with an intriguing storyline; it grabbed my attention from the beginning and did not let go.

I have read quite a few of Anna Quindlen’s books and I have enjoyed them all.

Miller’s Valley was no exception.

During the first few chapters I was really wondering if I was going to be able to keep reading. It wasn’t that it was hard to follow, if anything it just felt like there wasn’t much going on. But as I kept reading, it kind of snuck up on me, pulling me along. Before I knew it, I was nearing the end of a story that I wished would go on.

Told from Mary Margaret “Mimi” Miller’s point of view as she grows up on her family farm. Mary Margaret is a Miller of Miller’s Valley. Over the years Mimi hears a lot through the vent in her house. When the sump pump is off it makes for easy listening to whatever talks are happening in the kitchen. A lot of local gossip but especially a lot of talk about the plans for Miller’s Valley.

A true coming of age story. I became attached to the characters and the things that were happening in their lives. This novel is full of such wonderful and well-developed characters. I could feel both their happiness and their pain as they go through the trials and tribulations of life.

I loved Mimi Miller. Watching her grow from an 11-year-old child to an adult, I enjoyed as she interacted with those around her.

Anna Quindlen has an incredible way of writing about people, relationships, and family dynamics. A lot of the situations that come up in her books are things that could easily happen to any of us, which makes it a story that many can relate to.

This is a well written and beautiful novel that I am very happy to have had the chance to read.

I hope I don’t have to wait too long for more from this phenomenal author.

• Grab your current read and open to a random page • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! • Share the title & author, too, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here are my “teaser” sentences:

“I’m here today to right an old wrong,” she began. Camera shutters clicked, and she blinked away the flashes that momentarily blinded her. “I’m here today to tell you what happened to me fourteen years ago, and why, for far too long, I’ve kept silent”

Here We Lie by Paula Treick DeBoard

Expected publication: January 30th 2018 by Park Row Books

Goodreads Description:

Megan Mazeros and Lauren Mabrey are complete opposites on paper. Megan is a girl from a modest Midwest background, and Lauren is the daughter of a senator from an esteemed New England family. But in 1999, Megan and Lauren become college roommates and, as two young women struggling to find their place on campus, they forge a strong, albeit unlikely, friendship. The two quickly become inseparable, sharing clothes, advice and their most intimate secrets.

The summer before their senior year, Megan joins Lauren and her family on their private island off the coast of Maine. The weeks go by, filled with fun and relaxation, until late one night at the end of the vacation, something unspeakable happens, searing through the framework of the girls’ friendship and tearing them apart. Many years later, in the midst of a political scandal, Megan finally comes forward about what happened that fateful night, revealing a horrible truth about Lauren’s family and threatening to expose their long-buried secrets.

In this captivating and moving novel of domestic suspense, Paula Treick DeBoard explores the power of friendship and secrets and shows how betrayal can lead to disastrous, and deadly, consequences.

My Thoughts:

I read “The Drowning Girls” by Paula Treick DeBoard a little over a year ago and really enjoyed it. I haven’t gotten very far in this book yet….. but so far so good!!

Music Monday is a meme that was created by Drew from The Tattooed Book Geek. You pick a song and/or video and share it on Monday.

The song and video I am sharing today is:

Song To The Siren by This Mortal Coil

Song to the Siren is a song originally written and performed by Tim Buckley. It’s been covered by quite a few artists, but I first heard the cover by “This Mortal Coil” when watching the movie “The Lovely Bones”. Though it’s another song that hits me in the gut whenever I listen to it, it’s one of my favorites. I get quite obsessed with music from movies, especially emotional ones.

I hope you enjoy it!

Song To The Siren

On the floating, shipless oceans
I did all my best to smile
‘Til your singing eyes and fingers
Drew me loving to your isle
And you sang, “Sail to me, sail to me
Let me enfold you
Here I am, here I am
Waiting to hold you”
Did I dream you dreamed about me?
Were you here when I was full sail?
Now my foolish boat is leaning
Broken lovelorn on your rocks
For you sing, “Touch me not, touch me not
Come back tomorrow: O my heart
O my heart shies from the sorrow”
Well I’m as puzzled as the newborn child
I’m as riddled as the tide:
Should I stand amid the breakers?
Or should I lie with death my bride?
Hear me sing, “Swim to me, swim to me
Let me enfold you
Here I am, Here I am
Waiting to hold you”